


I Wouldn't Mind Your Problems As Long As You Didn't Mind Mine

by jarvis_ismy_copilot



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Female Reader, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Loneliness, References to Depression, Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 16:46:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8217571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jarvis_ismy_copilot/pseuds/jarvis_ismy_copilot
Summary: The reader is overwhelmed by her struggles with herself and the world. In an attempt to escape, she decides to take a walk in the park. There she meets Tony Stark and his five-year-old son, Aiden, playing. Will these two fill the gap in her heart and distract her from her own mind, at least for a little while ?





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Aiden is an OC I created for this story. He's Tony Stark's son. In my mind he's the son of some girl he hooked up with a few years ago, and when she gives birth to him he is notified as she had told him about being pregnant. Unfortunately, she dies shortly after giving birth and Tony, although not feeling like he'd be a good father, takes baby Aiden and raises him as he feels like Aiden is the last person he can fail after everything that had happened with the Avengers in Civil War.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this because I'm actually satisfied with how this turned out.
> 
> Don't hesitate to leave a comment. I might make a part two so if you want to suggest something for the second part, feel free to do so. I will keep it in mind if and when I write it.

The wind was blowing softly, a cold breeze stinging your cheeks. It was a cold day of October, the clouds were hiding the sun and the sky was a depressing gray. You were walking in the park, stepping on the crunchy leaves and admiring the world around you. The park was almost empty save for the occasional jogger, one or two lost souls like you wandering around, or people either walking their dogs, either playing with their kids.

 A particular pair of father and son could be noticed in the gloomy atmosphere, their cries of laughter and shrieks of joy piercing through the thick silence and stillness in the air. You directed your gaze towards the ones responsible for the joyous noise and a smile formed on your face, although still clouded by worry and sorrow. The pure innocence and happiness of the little boy playing with his father made a lump form in your throat as you remembered that you were once just like him; sadly, soon you had seen the true face of life and all that had been chased away from your being by depressing and self-destructive thoughts.

Lost within your own mind you hadn’t noticed how exhausted your feet felt so you found a nearby bench and sat down. You glimpsed at your wrist watch and upon seeing it was barely 4 o’clock you decided it was too early to head home; you had only been here for 30 minutes. Besides, your personal problems were nothing to be looking forward to.

As you looked up you noticed the boy and his father heading towards you. Surely, they weren’t **actually** coming to you, were they? No, of course they weren’t; they were probably going in the same direction, but not to you personally, you tried assuring yourself. Hardly had you finished your train of thought when the pair stopped a few feet in front of you. The adult, a handsome man with dark, brown hair, chocolate brown eyes and a goatee, you noticed, cleared his throat.

A little surprised that he was actually directing it toward you, you said, “Uh, yes?”.

“Sorry to bother you, Miss. My son and I couldn’t help but notice that you seemed a little sad. So, naturally, my son wanted to ask you to join us and play a little. He learned that in kindergarten,” he added in a whisper which you actually found amusing. “If you don’t want to, it’s okay; he’ll understand. But if you do want to, you are more than welcome to join in.”

You were actually surprised that not only did a little boy possess so much kindness, but also his father loved him enough to invite a complete stranger to play with his son. You glanced at the boy and saw him giving you an encouraging smile and an almost pleading look. The father was looking at you waiting and you could even say he seemed hopeful. Deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to distract yourself from your own dark thoughts, you gave the pair a bright smile and got up.

“Well, since such a handsome young man is giving me the honor of playing with him, I feel myself obligated to accept,” you replied playfully which made the little boy blush madly and hide behind his father.

“Brilliant !” his father exclaimed before extending his hand, “My name is Tony Stark, pleasure to meet you.”

“Y/n, a pleasure as well. And this fine gentleman, who might you be?” you asked addressing the boy with a motherly smile.

“I’m Aiden,” he beamed with a huge smile. “I’m five!” he added proudly.

“So young and strong! Well, you’ll have to take it easy on me, Aiden, I’m old and you’re no match for me!” you said as you bent forward and mimicked an old person.

“Don’t be silly! You’re not old, dad is!” Aiden said as he laughed.

Tony cast him an offended look and gasped, “My, you haven’t known [Y/N] for 10 minutes and you’re already offending me in front of her! Come here, you little traitor, I will punish you for your disloyalty at once!” he yelled and started running after him while Aiden giggled madly. You joined in and soon all three of you were running around the park laughing and panting.

* * *

 

Two hours later you found yourself exiting a coffee shop with Tony and Aiden. After playing in the park, Aiden suggested getting hot chocolate and you couldn’t say no to neither of them, and Tony’s gleeful smile melted your heart and made you think it was a good choice to accept the offer.

Although Tony was a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” and freaking Iron Man, he was surprisingly not as full of himself and cocky as the media made him look. He was a fun and thoughtful father who loved his son more than anyone would ever know, he held a lot of guilt and insecurities regarding his super-hero status and he even told you about his frequent panic attacks while you two were resting on a bench, watching Aiden play by himself for a while. Naturally, you felt obligated (although it didn’t feel forced) to tell him about your depression and history with self harm. He seemed very shocked to find out you had such serious problems after seeing you smile and laugh so much while playing with his son, but he assured you that he was the last person to judge you. He also made it clear that he would like it very much if you saw each other again so you exchanged numbers.

Back to the present time, you were walking down the sidewalk with Aiden in the middle of you as he wanted to hold your hand as well as his father’s. A boom in the sky followed by a flash of light startled the three of you and soon rain was pouring down soaking you to the bone in a matter of minutes.

“The tower is just around the corner. Why don’t you come up with us to dry yourself and I can drive you home afterwards since all of my cars are in the garage?” Tony offered while you three hurried up.

“Sure, why not. As long as it’s not a bother, of course,” you shouted through the sound of the heavy rain.

“Don’t be silly, I wouldn’t have offered if that was the case,” he said just before you entered Stark Tower, turned Avengers Tower a few years ago. Of course, now there were hardly any Avengers left after the ‘Civil War’ as they all liked to call it, but secretly they were all friends and met up once in a while. Wanda and Vision were even living with Tony and Aiden, but on a different floor, of course.

You barely had time to take a look around because almost immediately you found yourself entering an ultramodern elevator. As the doors closed, a female voice greeted, “Welcome back, boss. You had a good time with young Mr. Aiden, I hope?”

“Yes, F.R.I.D.A.Y., we did. I have a guest over, Miss [L/N]. Please prepare some dry clothes for her,” Tony replied to the A.I.

“Right away, sir.”

“Oh, and F.R.I.D.A.Y. ?”

 “Yes, boss?”

“Grant Miss [Y/N] [L/N] permission to come to any floor in the future.”

“Of course,” and with that the A.I. fell quite. You were so amazed at the exchange that you didn’t even notice when you arrived at the requested floor.

You stepped out and marveled at the beauty of the apartment. Not only was it so much bigger than your small, one-room flat, but it gave such a homey feeling that you felt warmth flood your insides. Screens, various gadgets and modern furniture filled the apartment but the beauty of it all took your breath away. That must have been the first time since you had met Tony when you realized that he was actually a **billionaire**.

Your awe must have been noticeable on your face because as he turned to face you, Tony chuckled and said, “I hope you don’t mind the technology. I like to tinker with it and create my own softs and stuff.”

“Oh, no, not at all. It’s just that I have never seen something quite like this. In a good way, of course,” you added quickly afraid of sounding rude.

“Well, make yourself at home. I’ll give you some clothes to change in a second and I can drive you home after I give Aiden something to eat. Is that alright?” Tony said.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s okay. Don’t worry,” you reassured him.

Two minutes later, Tony came back with a set of clothes for you and you went to change in an adjacent room. When you were finished and came out, you couldn’t help but overhear Tony’s conversation with Aiden.

“-but I really like her dad!” Aiden’s voice whined.

“I know you do, I do too. But I don’t think she would want to be more than friends with someone like me. Especially since I have a great responsibility, you, and she is much younger than me. She has a future ahead of her, she doesn’t need to be burdened by my problems too,” Tony said with a sad note in his voice.

That’s when you decided to step in the room, cutting short the conversation.

“I hope I’m not interrupting, am I?” you said trying to sound oblivious to their previous talk.

“No, no,” Tony quickly said. “Aiden didn’t want to eat anything, so I guess I can take you home now.”

“Let her stay here tonight, daddy ! It’s storming outside!” Aiden begged his father.

“Oh, I don’t know, buddy. I don’t want to intrude,” you said although the thought of staying the night sounded amazing. You really didn’t want to go back to the coldness and emptiness of your small apartment, and especially not to be left alone with your thoughts after spending so much time with Tony and Aiden and having such a great time.

“You know what?” Tony said. “Aiden’s right. It’s storming outside, and I wouldn’t want to know you are alone on a weather like this. If you agree, of course, you can sleep in the guest room tonight.”

Shocked that your secret wish was actually coming true you agreed right away, to which Aiden squealed in happiness and jumped to hug both you and his father.

* * *

 

The rest of the night was spent watching Disney movies with Aiden and Tony on the living room couch, and throwing popcorn at each other. When it was pretty late and already past Aiden’s bed time, you kissed the little boy goodnight and headed to the guest room. Before entering you called for Tony.

“Yes, Y/n? Do you need anything?” he asked.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind your sharing your problems with me and mine with you as long as I was surrounded by so much love and joy from both you and Aiden,” you said before kissing Tony on the cheek and turning around. “Goodnight,” and you closed the door behind you.

“Goodnight..” Tony murmured as he softly caressed the cheek you had kissed, all the while thinking that he couldn’t wait for morning to come so that he could spend another day with you.


	2. Perfectly imperfect

You had thought that as soon as your head hit the pillow you'd be out like a candle in a storm in a matter of seconds. However, your mind was painfully awake even after 2 hours of retreating to the guest room.

Soft, blue light was filtering through the large window of the room. The glass was tinted, courtesy of F.R.I.D.A.Y., but just enough to make it easy to sleep without visual disturbance and still give you a good view of New York at the same time. There was a stillness in the air which pressed on your lungs, making you uncomfortable. Deciding that sleep would not visit you that night, you sat up.

You made your way to the window, your bare feet padding softly on the plush carpet beneath. You stood still, your forehead pressing against the glass for a while, your toes curled into the fabric of the carpet.

A clattering sound and a muffled curse snapped your head to attention. You started in the direction of the door cautiously and opened the door soundlessly, peeking your head through the crack. Standing still, you held your breath while you waited for more noise. Seeing as it didn't come, you shrugged. Just as you were about to retreat and close the door again, a voice which sounded much like Tony's cursed again.

Not being able to keep your curiosity at bay, you exited the room fully and closed the door behind you. As you made your way to the kitchen, light slowly started to be more intense until you were standing in the fully lit kitchen watching Tony sweep the remnants of what looked like a glass from the floor and the counter. Not wanting to startle him, you cleared your throat to get Tony's attention.

His head snapped up and he accidentally hit it on the counter with a yelp. "Sorry," you said cringing.

"No, no, it's alright," Tony replied while rubbing his head where he had hit it. "What are you doing up at this hour?" Tony stood up properly, taking the dustpan with him and throwing the glass shards in the bin. They hit the bottom with a clang.

"Couldn't sleep," you said sheepishly. "I heard you making noise and decided I'd make sure no one had come to murder you."

Tony cracked a small smile in the corner of his mouth and scoffed, "Puh-lease, with F.R.I.D.A.Y. as my eyes and ears everywhere they wouldn't be able to get within ten feet of the Tower if they tried."

"Good to know then." You stepped further into the kitchen and took a seat on a stool at the counter. "Wanna tell me what you were doing before smashing that poor glass into pieces?" you inclined your head in the direction of the bin.

Tony sat down opposite you and propped his head on his left hand as he looked at you. "Only if you tell me why you couldn't sleep."

"Fair enough," you conceded. "You first."

"You play dirty," Tony grinned. "Alright, if you insist. I uh, had a nightmare and I couldn't go back to sleep. I wanted to grab a glass of scotch or anything alcoholic really and go down to the workshop until Aiden woke up."

You wanted to reach out and touch Tony's arm but hesitated. Sure, you were spending the night here but that didn't mean anything yet. Besides, you didn't want to invade Tony's personal space like that, especially when Tony tried and failed to mask his distress with nonchalance. Instead, you changed the spotlight to you and you didn't miss the relief on Tony's face when you did.

"The reason I couldn't sleep is because of thoughts. Too many, too ugly," you said, picking at your nails. "Couldn't shut them up enough to fall asleep so here I am."

Tony surprised you by taking your hand in his and giving it a soft squeeze before retracting it. You lifted your head, giving him a smile then an idea popped into your head.

"How about you ditch the scotch and instead I make you a cup of hot chocolate?"

"I'm not really a fan," Tony explained.

"Well, you haven't tried my grandma's recipe. Come on, don't hate until you try."

"Fine," Tony relented with a chuckle and raised his hands in surrender. "Marvelous," you clapped your hands before starting.

You rummaged in the cupboards after the ingredients with F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s help ("Seriously, Tony, you don't know where the sugar is?") and 15 minutes later you had two steaming mugs of hot chocolate in front of you. The strong smell assaulted your nostrils and you took in a deep breath. It smelled like home and childhood and a time untainted by worries and adulthood, and you closed your eyes to relive it for a short while. The tension left your body and you felt more at ease than you had in a long time (not taking into consideration the time spent with the father-son Stark duo).

Opening you eyes, you noticed Tony held the same blissful expression on his face and you smiled. "What do you think?"

Tony opened his eyes staring at you incredulously. "What do I think?! It's the best damn hot chocolate I've ever tasted and that's saying something considering the places I've frequented all my life."

Tony's praise made you blush softly and you ducked your head to try and hide it. A quick glance at the digital clock on the counter told you it was almost 2 AM which you doubted was an unusual hour to be awake at for Tony and knew for certain wasn't for you. Nonetheless, you asked, "Shouldn't you try and get some more sleep now?"

"Nah," Tony shook his head, "Sleep's a lost cause for me. I think I'm heading down to the workshop, tinker a bit with the Mark Twenty." He yawned into his palm as he stretched then slumped down into his chair before getting up. "You can come with me, if you still can't sleep."

You thought about it for a minute then nodded your head and took your mug with you as you followed Tony a few floors down into what he called his workshop. When you stepped inside after Tony, you had to take a second to take everything in. The room was big, but not huge; it seemed just big enough to house all his equipment and suits (which were sitting in glass panels incorporated into the far walls) and give him room to work. There were several workstations scattered throughout the room, each serving a different purpose and an area to the left separated from the rest by thick glass doors.

A small kitchenette and a worn out sofa were tucked neatly into a corner as well, where two bots emerged from beeping and whirring, snapping their arms at Tony in what you assumed was a greeting.

"Yeah, yeah, I know you missed me. Now back off, Dumm-E, U, we have a guest," Tony chastised the two bots with affection evident in his voice. He turned around towards you. "Y/n, meet my moronic helpers, Dumm-E and U. Don't accept anything they offer you, trust me it's not edible. Speaking from personal experience," Tony told you, throwing a halfhearted glare at the pair. They lowered their arms in disappointment? which made you chuckle. You took their claws in your hand in turn and shook them.

"It's nice to meet you both. I appreciate you keeping Tony safe while he's down here."

Tony snorted, "Trust me, if they were in charge of keeping me safe I'd be dead ten times over." He shooed the bots away before turning to you. "You can sit on that sofa over there where there's no risk of getting hurt. Meanwhile, I'll continue with some improvements to the Mark Twenty nearby."

"Sure," you nodded and went to sit down. You took a look around you as Tony settled at his workstation, admiring every piece of equipment. Unsurprisingly, your gaze was drawn to the suits Tony kept in his workshop. It took you an embarrassingly long time to realize that this was Tony's safe space, where he felt comfortable enough to let loose and allow himself to be bared wide open. This was a show of trust and something told you not many people were given this privilege which served to further confuse you. You met Tony not 12 hours ago and here you were already, a welcomed guest into his life and mind. You wondered what had inspired this level of trust in him so early on. Tony didn't seem like the person to trust easily.

Sitting down on the sofa and stretching on it to get comfortable, you observed Tony as he worked for about half an hour. The low volume rock music he was listening to coupled with Tony and F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voices and the occasional noises made by the gauntlet he was working on soon made you drowsy and had you struggling to keep your eyes open. Giving up on the fight, you closed your eyes and succumbed to the blissful darkness of dreamless sleep.

* * *

  
You awoke with a start some time later. Tony was still working, going over schematics and other mechanical nonsense with F.R.I.D.A.Y. and despite the lack of windows in the workshop, you knew it was early morning. The music was absent now and it seemed like Tony was making an effort to keep his voice quiet. It made you smile.

You sat up and stretched your sore muscles before going up to Tony. "What time is it?" you asked, voice laden with sleep.

Tony spun around in his chair and faced you with a grin. "I see you're awake, sunshine. It's- F.R.I.D.A.Y., what time is it?" Tony said.

"Currently it's 7:37 AM, boss," F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied smoothly. You brought a hand up to your face to rid it of sleep and yawned into your palm. "I should leave. I have a 9 AM class to teach and I don't think my boss would appreciate me being late when one teacher is already on leave."

"Wait, you're a teacher?" Tony asked startled.

"Yeah," you nodded, "although I've just been transferred. Today's my first day, actually."

"What do you teach?"

"English for kindergartners. Not exactly what I pictured when I decided to teach, but it's a start," you supplied.

"And where, exactly, are you teaching?" Tony inquired.

"Laurel Springs School, why?"

Tony's face broke out into a grin. "That's Aiden's school!" You were taken aback for a second then you smiled as well.

"I think it's fate we met, Tony," you said cheekily and Tony laughed.

"It sure feels like it."

Tony escorted you upstairs to your room to change your clothes. He insisted on you having breakfast before leaving but you were adamant you didn't have the time and you really didn't want to be late on your first day. Tony conceded but didn't budge when he called Happy and had him drive you to your apartment to quickly grab your stuff before taking you to school. Because he couldn't drive you himself since he had to prepare Aiden as well, he insisted you at least let Happy do it.

Happy, as it turned out, was an excellent driver, and you arrived in front of the school five minutes before the bell rang. You thanked him profusely before getting out of the car and entering the school with hurried steps.

Children weren't exactly your cup of tea but they were far less horrible to deal with than you had expected. If it was because they came from rich, high class families or simply because children were more well-behaved than you had thought was still a matter up for debate in your head. Nonetheless, you found it quite easy to keep them entertained and teach them useful things about English at the same time.

It didn't surprise you to meet Aiden in the gifted children class, considering the genius his father was but it did take you by surprise to see recognition flick across his face when you entered the classroom seconds before getting an armful of excited five-year-old.

"Y/n!!! Dad told me you teached at my school but I didn't believe him! But you're here!" Aiden shouted happily in your shoulder. You were crouched down in an awkward position to hold Aiden safely in your arms but hearing the excitement in his voice vanished any ache you might have felt. You chuckled and stroked his back then pulled him away from you to take a look at him.

"You dad didn't lie, Aiden. I'll be your English teacher from now on," you assured the little boy. He flashed you a toothy grin. "Now go back to your desk and let's start the lesson. It's not fair to your other classmates. We can spend some time during break, okay?" Aiden nodded and scrambled to his seat, talking excitedly in hushed voices with his deskmate.

The rest of the day went smoothly, with no unpleasant incidents or disasters occurring. You managed to convince Aiden to leave your side and hang out with his friends around third period, but only by promising you'd visit again that night or the day after. Otherwise, it had been a good first day at work which you were grateful for.

The weather, however, did not agree with your feelings. Rain was pouring down onto the streets of New York with angry droplets of water when you stepped outside at the end of your day. Cursing under your breath for forgetting to take your umbrella with you, you took a deep breath and decided to screw it. It wasn't like a little rain was going to kill you.

By the time you reached your apartment you were soaked to the bone and shivering from head to toe. You unlocked the door with shaking hands and chattering teeth before stepping inside into the quiet hallway. The sound of the door closing left you standing in a depressingly quiet house, water dripping onto the cheap, worn out linoleum. It didn't take long for you to feel how achingly alone you were once again. It felt like all of yesterday and last night had been nothing but a dream, a bittersweet imagination which left you with more longing than anything else.

You headed for the bathroom with a sigh, screwing your eyes shut for a second before opening them again. You stripped out of your soaked clothes and took a hot shower, trying to get warmth back into your skin and bones. You hung your clothes on the string above the tub then changed into fresh ones and heated up some left over soup in the claustrophobic kitchen of your rented apartment.

After you ate and cleaned up after yourself, you slumped down with a sigh onto your extendable couch. It creaked ominously at your added weight but you ignored it in favour of pinching your nose then burying your face in your hands.

Feelings of sadness, longing and sorrow crashed over you like a wave in a storm. Soon, your body was shaking with tears which you didn't even bother holding in. A wave of cold came over you and you looked up to see the window of your room broken where it had been cracked a few weeks ago. You screamed into your pillow and kicked your fists and feet on the couch, fresh, angry and desperate tears falling like waterfalls on your cheeks again.

You were startled out of your breakdown by your phone ringing on the depressingly old coffee table. You picked it up while hiccuping to see Tony's caller ID flash on your screen. You stupidly wiped your face although it wasn't a video call and he couldn't see you then cleared your throat to force the tears to leave your voice. You answered.

"H-hi Tony," your voice broke and you cursed inwardly, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"Y/n? Are you okay?" Fuck.

"Yeah, yes, I am. Fine. I'm fine," you stumbled over your words, making your lying obvious.

"Yeah, and The Hulk wears pink on Sundays and has tea parties with sick children at hospitals," Tony deadpanned. His reply startled a chocked laugh out of you. "Were you crying?" His voice was quiet when you didn't bother to deny or deflect.

You nodded then when you realized he couldn't see you, you said "Yes," quietly. You didn't add anything further so Tony sighed.

"Wanna tell me why?"

"Just stuff, I guess."

"What stuff? Come on, talk to me."

"You wouldn't understand," the reply came out of your mouth before you even had time to process it and you smacked your head as soon as it did.

"Why, because I'm a rich, white guy whose life is sunshine and rainbows?" Tony bristled and yup, definitely the wrong thing to say.

"I didn't mean it like that, Tony, I'm sorry. It's just that.." you trailed off.

"Just what, Y/n? Tell me and maybe I can help you." That was just it, you knew he could help you and you didn't want to take advantage of him like that. You didn't want to make it seem like you were interested in him for the money. Surprising yourself, you told Tony exactly that before explaining your situation. Tony was quiet for a minute. "Y/n, hold on," he said then supposedly put the phone down. You could hear muffled voices for a minute before Tony picked the phone up again and resumed talking to you.

"I've made arrangements for a truck to come and pick up your stuff now and move you in the Tower, a floor beneath mine and Aiden's. Just tell me your address and I'll be there in ten," Tony said. Your heart stopped beating for a second but when it started again it was hammering wildly in your ribcage. Tears started flowing anew and a lump formed in your throat.

"I- Thank you, Tony, thank you so much," you sobbed into the phone, not being able to restrain yourself.

"Thank me by giving me your location and letting me come pick you up, Y/n."

You nodded to yourself and told him the address then hung up to get dressed and pack a bag of clothes. Tony told you to only pack up things you'd immediately need and leave the rest to the team coming to bring your stuff in.

Exactly ten minutes later, just as you finished packing, Tony knocked at your door. You opened the door with still red eyes and Tony made short work of stepping inside and hugging you.

"Shhh, it's okay now. You don't need to cry. I'm helping you, why are you crying?" Tony said and you chuckled as you parted, wiping your eyes with a napkin.

Tony escorted you out of the building, but not before throwing a look full of contempt at it, then drove you to Avengers Tower. Aiden was more than excited to see you and he started jumping up and down when his dad informed him you'd be living in the same building with them. You got to meet Wanda and Vision as well, who welcomed you warmly (or as close to warm as possible for an android who was still learning about human behaviour and emotions). Wanda squeezed your hands softly and assured you things would get better now that you were there. You didn't like her poking inside your head and you told her so (but not unkindly) but appreciated the sentiment regardless. She apologized and promised to steer clear of your thoughts and offered her friendship. You gladly accepted, seeing as you sorely needed a female friend in your life.

That night you ate together with Tony, Aiden, Wanda and Vision since your arrival was an occasion deserving of celebratory dinner. After Tony put a still running on adrenaline Aiden to sleep, you sat with him on the couch in the living room sipping a mug of your hot chocolate and talking about yourself and Tony, getting to know each other a little bit more.

When you parted for bed a couple of hours later, you hugged Tony again and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you for everything, Tony. But most importantly, for being there for me when no one else was."

"I want to always be there, Y/n. I promise you'll never be alone again," Tony assured you.

"And neither will you or Aiden," you added. Tony nodded at you before he turned around and headed for his room, you doing the same. You didn't fall asleep until an hour later, your head swarming with thoughts and your chest with feelings. In the span of less than 48 hours your life had taken an expected turn, one which you hoped would be a good one. And if you admitted that the possibility of a relationship with Tony (just Tony. Never Tony Stark for you) gave you butterflies and made you giddy with anticipation like a teenager, then it was no one else's business anyway.

* * *

  
The next few weeks were rocky for you, to say the least. Between acclimating yourself to a new job and a new house, as well as your fastly developing relationship with Tony, you were left feeling drained of energy at the end of the day, sometimes even in the middle of it. Depression reared its ugly head often during these weeks, assaulting you with dark thoughts and even darker doubts. Through it all, Tony and Aiden were a guiding light for you, helping you make your way through the dark tunnel your mind was.

After a serious talk with Tony you also started seeing a professional for your depression, deciding it was high time you started dealing with your illness.

It was a year later when you could confidently say your relationship with Tony was stable and official, announcement which was made to the press as well. To say it caused an uproar would have been an understatement, but Tony assured you that at the first unsavoury comment about you, the media would have a lawsuit on their asses faster than Tony could say 'Iron Man'.

Speaking of which, it took a while for you to get used to the feeling of Tony having to leave in the middle of the night (or day, for that matter) to attend to a national or international crisis, trying and succeeding to save the world. Unlike Pepper, you found yourself able to live with the worry over Tony's safety. He was more than capable to deal with things thrown his way and he had a full team (once again) backing him up anyway.

Despite the exasperation he showed when he got called in while in bed with you more often than not, you could see Tony's excitement and happiness coming off in waves from him every time it happened. You knew how much being useful and saving lives meant to him and having the team back (as well as fixing his friendship with Steve) was undoubtedly the greatest thing that had ever happened to Tony ("After Aiden and you, darling, of course,").

There were still days when you woke up with an anvil on your chest and it seemed like getting out of bed wasn't worth it. And there were days when no matter what, Tony could do nothing to help you besides taking his work in the bedroom and sitting next to you, a promise that he wasn't going anywhere.

However, your life was massively changed compared to how it had been before meeting Tony. You had a lovely boyfriend (soon to be husband, but shh, you weren't supposed to know. Tony thought he was being sneaky, ha!) who sometimes got on your nerves and made you want to rip your hair out but always meant well and assured you of his love daily, a stepson who you'd give your life for without a second thought, and a group of friends who had become family somewhere along the way. Your life wasn't perfect, sure, but it was the best you'd have ever hoped for. You could say it was perfectly imperfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to truewolf14 who has lifted my self esteem to the heavens and made me want to write a second part to this (finally!), here is the second (and final) chapter. It took me an embarrassingly long time to manage to write it, so I profusely apologize to anyone who might have been waiting for it. But hey, better late than never, amirite?
> 
> This is for you, truewolf14. Thank you!


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